Innovation Connections

Last updated: 28 February 2018

At a glance

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Provides small and medium sized businesses with access to expert technology advice to address technology and knowledge gaps, and collaborate with the research sector in developing new ideas with commercial potential. Support includes up to $50,000 in matched funding to work on collaborative projects.

Who can apply:

At a minimum, you must:

be a for-profit, non-tax exempt company who is registered for GST and operating in Australia for at least three years

have an annual turnover or operating expenditure between $1.5 million ($750,000 for remote Australia and Northern Australia) and $100 million

be operating in a specified Growth Sector.

Other eligibility requirements may apply.

Deadline to apply:

For Innovation Connections Facilitation, applications may be made at any time.

For Innovation Connections Grant, applications must be made within 12 months of receiving an Innovation Facilitation Report.

Contact information:

Overview

Innovation Connections assists small and medium sized businesses to access knowledge, engage with researchers and innovate. Read our customer stories to find out how our customers are using Innovation Connections to grow their business.

The Innovation Connections Facilitation service is free. Depending on your enquiry type, and the outcomes of your facilitation, you may subsequently apply for an Innovation Connections Grant.

Innovation Connections Facilitation

An Innovation Facilitator will help you to assess the gaps in your business knowledge and provide specialist support. There are three types of facilitations available:

Technology Facilitation – helps your business to identify new technology, knowledge and expertise

Research Facilitation – helps your business to identify critical and strategic research needs and pathways to engage and collaborate with the research sector.

At the end of the engagement, you will be provided with a Facilitation Report that outlines your business’ needs and opportunities. Based on the nature of your enquiry, the report will either recommend IT solutions, off-the-shelf technologies or collaborative research projects. For research projects, you will be able to apply for an Innovation Connections Grant to help co-fund the collaboration.

Innovation Connections Grant

Following a Research Facilitation, you can apply for an Innovation Connections Grant to undertake a research project that addresses the recommendations made in the Facilitation Report.

Research projects must be in collaboration with a Publicly Funded Research Organisation (PFRO) and should develop a new idea with commercial potential. Your Innovation Facilitator will help you decide which three available grants will suit your business needs:

Researcher Placement – placing a researcher in your business (up to a maximum of $50,000)

Business Researcher Placement – placing a researcher from your business into a PFRO (up to a maximum of $50,000)

Graduate Placement – employing a graduate or post-graduate with a relevant degree into your business to work on a specific Innovation Connections project (up to a maximum of $30,000).

Eligibility criteria

Innovation Connections Facilitation

To be eligible for an Innovation Connections Facilitation, your business must:

be a solvent, for-profit, non-tax exempt company that is registered for GST and incorporated and operating in Australia

be a company with trading activities that are the majority of its overall activities

have filed Business Activity Statements showing ongoing trading in at least three successive years

have an annual turnover or operating expenditure in the current or one of the two previous financial years:

between $1.5 million and $100 million or

between $750,000 and $100 million for applicants from remote Australia or Northern Australia

not have received an Innovation Connections Facilitation before

satisfy one of the following:

be operating in one or more growth sectors:

advanced manufacturing

food and agribusiness

medical technologies and pharmaceuticals

mining equipment, technology and services

oil, gas and energy resources, or

provide enabling technologies or services to one or more of the growth sectors, or

show commitment to, and have the skills, capability, intellectual property or expertise to operate in, one of the growth sectors in the future.

You cannot apply if you are:

an individual

a partnership

a trust (however, an incorporated trustee that meets the trading activity requirements above may apply on behalf of a trust)

a Commonwealth, State or Local Government agency or body (including government business enterprises)

named by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency as an organisation that has not complied with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth).

Innovation Connections Grant

To be eligible for an Innovation Connections Grant, your business must:

have received an Innovation Facilitation Report

apply within 12 months of receiving the report

be able to fund the total project costs, as the grant is paid after completion of the project

not use in-kind contributions or funds from other government grants or programmes to cover the project costs

not have received a grant in the last five years, unless a supplementary grant is permitted by the Programme Guidelines.

How to apply

Innovation Connections Facilitation

Each application must be completed by an authorised representative of your business, such as the Chief Executive Officer or an authorised manager. You may contact an Innovation Facilitator in your state before applying, to find out if our services are right for you or for assistance with applying.

If your application is successful

Innovation Connections Facilitation

We will notify you of the outcome of your application within 10 working days from when you submit a complete application.

If you are successful, an Innovation Facilitator will contact you to arrange a time to start the facilitation service.

If you are unsuccessful, we will explain why and may refer you to other services.

Innovation Connections Grant

We will notify you of the outcome of your application within 15 working days from when you submit a complete application.

If you are successful, an Innovation Facilitator will work with you to complete required documentation including contracts.

If you are unsuccessful we will explain why and may refer you to other services.

Key documents

Customer information guide

Grant agreement

Factsheet

Project contract template

Quick guides

Developing a business case for IT investment

Developing business requirements

Selecting an IT solution for your business

Procuring an IT solution for your business

Implementing an IT solution

Selecting ICT tools for your business

Managing ICT risk for business

Using the cloud to support your business

Electronic Data Interchange

Innovation facilitators

If your business is eligible, one of our highly skilled facilitators can provide you with a comprehensive Innovation Connections Facilitation.

Innovation facilitators list

Grant recipients

Read about the research collaboration projects Innovation Connections is supporting.

Finalised grant projects

Grant projects in progress

Customer stories

More than 1,500 Australian small and medium sized businesses have been assisted through Innovation Connections. These businesses come from all Australian states and territories and include chocolate makers, clothing manufacturers and horticultural service providers. Many of these businesses have been connected with an Australian Publicly Funded Research Organisations to work collaboratively on research projects.

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to them and their cultures and to the elders past and present.